Changes to life in Southern New Hampshire during coronavirus

by Quinn Schoff 

Residents in Southern New Hampshire say they are adjusting to new ways of living and new routines during the pandemic. 

Karen Franzen a resident of Richmond, NH said she has been staying in for the most part during this pandemic, which is not typical for her. Recently, she has not been feeling well. Franzen said, she has been having a headache, a very low-grade fever, and that her resting heart rate was up which made her concerned.  It’s prompted her to ask, “Is this something [to worry about or] is it not?” 

She followed up by saying she will be “stuck at home until [her] temperature is back to normal,” and she won’t be going back to work for a while. 

Franzen  said that her husband now goes to the Hannaford supermarket in Rindge every two weeks.  They go when there are the least amount of people there in order to practice the best social distancing measures and to get in and out quickly. Franzen said, “[There were] no people around, no waiting…it was a lucky find.” Just down Rte 202 the Market Basket supermarket was very busy. “He would’ve had to wait an hour,” she said.

Luckily, Franzen is also able to buy eggs from her neighbor. “I’ll put the money in a cart and the eggs are there waiting for me,” she said. 

Franzen said that the experience of “staying at home [in New Hampshire] is not as hard as [it is for] you guys who are in the middle of a metropolis.” Franzen and her husband can go outside and still be on their property. They are able to be outdoors and get lots of fresh air whenever they want while still being able to follow social distancing protocols.

Liz and Michael Knight live down the road in Rindge. They go out to get groceries and go on a regular hike on Saturdays, otherwise they stay home. Michael said that “life is not to radically different.” However, Liz said, “I went into the liquor store and it was a little terrifying ’cause maybe one person out of ten was wearing a mask, and they definitely, they didn’t care.”   

The Knights also talked about restaurants and food in their area. Michael said, “We do takeout meals once a week from local restaurants, just to help keep them going and stay alive.” Liz said, “We are using food resources that we really hadn’t taken advantage of.”  

Local farms such as a Mushroom Farm in Mason, NH used to supply restaurants only, but are now mainly selling to local people. Community Share Farm in Rindge is part of a system called Community Supported Agriculture which Liz and Michael signed up for. They pay money and every week they get a basket of vegetables and different produce. Eggs are hard to find in the store, “so I found this farm in Jaffrey and we’re going to get eggs today,” said Liz. They have started to use and support local farms a lot more, which they’ve discovered during this pandemic. 

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